14 December 2008

Filming in Thirumalakoidi

Here is Kathir, the film director being blessed by the cast / villagers after a scene. Kathir is a really well known film maker in the Tamil speaking world - EVERYONE we met, knew him .. His films are the type which run in cinemas throughout south india for 176 days ... which means millions see them, and the sound tracks become number one hits (something that my director friends in Europe and Australia would LOVE to happen in terms of the exposure/ cinema runs of their films...)

The interesting thing of doing this documentary on Sakthi Amma who is only 32 years old today, is that all the main players in Amma's early life are still alive, the oral history is there... the characters are there... and the fact that we are filming in the village, means access to a people, costumes, props, location... it's all at hand within five minutes... I have never worked on a shoot where everything has unfolded to quickly!

I will be interested to see the result of the work.

Here is Yanan playing the 16 year old Amma, and in the blue sari is the grandmother who was a key person in the young boy's life and during the transference from boy to divine being.